Weird - The Correct Way
by EVERYTHINGERICANDSOOKIE
Summary: Updated version of Weird. Please read the Authors Note:) Sookie Stackhouse is used to her life being a certain way, or so she believes. When someone tall, blonde and handsome comes and starts changing things, she is forced to question everything she's ever known. But can this new someone change the way she views her world, or will she forever be trapped in a Weird world? AU/OOC.
1. Authors Note

Hello to my wonderful readers:

I am so sorry that it seems like I have abandoned my stories. This is not true. Real life got into the way. It is not an excuse, because it is so wrong to not finish a story, but it is the reason.

Anyway, the reason for this update is because I have started to rework my story, Weird. My original intention for this story was MUCH different than how it turned out. I honestly ended up hating this story more than anything. It became so convoluted and awful, so I just didn't feel any motivation to update it. I have wanted to edit and rework it for a while. I finally had some time and so here are the new chapters. This has a much different feel than the first version.

I was going to replace the chapters, but I feel like that wouldn't be right. It would be like stealing the reviews from that story. This IS the same story, but how it was supposed to be from the beginning. It will be posted as a separate story. I will not be continuing the other story, because it is the same story, just updated. Like I said, I ended up hating how it was, so hopefully now that the story is going the right way, it should be a better read. I will also want to update it more I think.

I am so sorry again! Thank you for all of your support so far. I hope you enjoy this new and improved story!

-EVERYTHINGERICANDSOOKIE


	2. Chapter 1

_***Disclaimer***_

 _ **Not my characters. They belong to HBO or Charlaine Harris.**_

 **Read, enjoy, and review!**

It was a crisp, clear, sunny fall morning and we arrived at church, early, as usual. Gran always sat in the third pew from the back with me right beside her.. There was always an empty seat beside me, as no one ever asked to sit there, which was fine with me, I was very shy. The only time I talked to people was when I was waitressing at work, and even then the conversation was very minimal.

Glancing around, I noticed that the groups and families were all filing into the church, trying to find a seat in the quickly filling room.

My mother used to drag me and my older brother, Jason, along with her to find a seat. Even though Gran always saved us seats, my mom would always worry about finding one. My father would usually stroll in, ten minutes later after talking with his friends outside. My Aunt Linda, and my cousin Hadley, who was a year older than me, would come in right before church would start. After church we would all head over to Gran's for a late lunch.

I missed that.

My parents and brother died in a car accident when I was seven years old. I had been dropped off at my Gran's to spend the night while they took Jason to go see a movie. It was raining that night, and the car went off the road and into the river. They all drowned.

I don't really remember much about what happened. I remember my Gran dressing me in a black dress and holding my hand during the service. It did not really register that they were gone until I woke up screaming for my 'Mama' but my Gran came running in, instead. That's when I finally got it. My parents and older brother were dead.

All I had left were my Gran and my cousin Hadley. Hadley's mother had died the year before from breast cancer and her father had abandoned her when she was a baby. Hadley lived with Gran too. At school, Hadley was in a grade higher than me but people used to think we were twins because we looked so much alike.

Hadley and I were best friends until she was in 8th grade. I had no other friends than Hadley. Kids at my school thought I was a freak. A loser. Ugly. Fat. You name it, I got called it. Hadley would stick up for me but when she started getting noticed by guys and made friends with the popular crowd, I was left standing in the dust.

I remember her telling me that it was nothing personal and that she still loved me, but whenever someone at school started going off on me she would just stand there looking at the ground, not doing anything. After high school, Hadley left and she didn't tell us where she was going. Sometimes I miss her, but after everything, I'm sort of glad to not have someone like that in my life.

So here we were, the last remaining of the Stackhouse family, sitting in our favorite pew at church. Everyone was settling in for the start, as usual, when I noticed someone new come in. He was tall. Like, well over six-foot-giant-type, tall. He had short blonde hair and it was parted at the side and brushed back. He was wearing a dark sweater, black, or maybe navy blue, and gray pants. He had on a heavy winter coat, which I didn't understand. Sure it was November, but it doesn't get _that_ cold in Louisiana.

He was alone, from what I could gather, and he was gorgeous. He sat down about two pews in front of me and was quickly asked to move. The people behind him would not be able to see. He stood up, looking nervous, and his eyes met mine. He motioned to the seat next to me, silently asking if it was taken. I shook my head no, and he made his way over.

He sat down, very close to me, and muttered a quick thank you. I didn't say anything.

The pastor made his presence known, but I was too distracted by the feeling of the man's leg touching my bare thigh. I was wearing a knee length dress, but it rode up slightly when I was sitting. All of the sudden I felt coldness where his leg had been touching mine and I looked up. Church was over. While I gathered our things, I knew I would be waiting at least a half hour before she was done talking with her friends.

The man next to me leaned over and said "Hello."

I mumbled, "Hello," back to him, my cheeks reddening. He was standing in the way of the aisle. I was curious as to why he would be talking to me, but the thing that came out of his mouth surprised me greatly.

"I'm new in town, would you like to show me around sometime?" said the tall stranger.

No one had ever wanted to hang out with me. And what was with this guy? He looked to be much older than I was, so I was confused as to why he would want to go out with me.

"Oh, I don't know. I might be a little too young for you," I said, silently cursing myself for saying such an awkward and embarrassing reply.

"I would very much like for you to show me around," he said, looking very deeply into my eyes. While he said it, I felt a strange tingling somewhere between my eyes and forehead. It felt like something was tickling my brow bone.

"No, I don't think so," I responded quickly, wanting to remove myself from this embarrassing situation. I moved to get up but his hand shot out and grabbed my arm, preventing me from moving. I glanced down at his hand and then glared up at him. "Let go of me."

He snatched his hand away like I had burned him. "Sorry, I just didn't catch your name."

"It's Sookie. Would you mind moving? I need to be going." I said, getting annoyed now. He moved aside, and I started walking towards the exit.

"Hey, wait!" he yelled, but I had already made my way out of the side door of the chapel.

Geez, what the hell? That man was so weird. I mean, who tries to pick up a girl at Church?

I met up with Gran and we walked to the car. She chatted about the sermon and asked me if I had talked to the man sitting next to me. I said yes, but quickly steered her away from that conversation. We made my way home I got changed for work.

' _No more sunday dinners_ ,' I thought. I sighed as I pulled out my hair brush and ran it through my long blonde hair before securing it in a high ponytail. Gran understood that it was necessary for me to work, but I knew it made her sad still. I was still saving up for college and paying for what Gran's social security check didn't cover.

I didn't really want to go to school, but how was I supposed to tell Gran that the reason was because I could hear the thoughts of everyone around me? So I lied and saved money for "school". I never could understand how my Gran never figured out about my little disability. There were times I swore she knew, but at the same time, she never said anything.

I headed downstairs, and yelled goodbye to my Gran who was sitting in the living room knitting while a soap opera played. I jumped in my car and headed to work. I was not looking forward to an evening at Merlotte's.

Having the ability to read minds was such a burden and I had no one who I could talk to about it. People would think I was crazy. I tried my best to never read someone unless I thought it was necessary. People's thoughts could be so filthy, but why shouldn't they be? Their thoughts were private. They had no idea that I was able to hear or see the disgusting things they fantasized about. The worst ones where when their thoughts revolved around me.

I walked into the already crowded restaurant and was bombarded with everyone's thoughts. Why couldn't everyone be quieter like that man I had met at church that morning? At least I didn't hear anything from him, and I was even touching him…..wait a second….why didn't I hear anything from him? Usually touching amplified thoughts.

I pushed those thoughts aside and headed back to my bosses office to put my stuff away. He had cubbies in his office. It was more like an unofficial break room as Sam was always behind the bar or in the kitchen. I grabbed an apron and notepad and started my shift.

ssenssenssenssenssenssenssenssenssenssenssenssenssenssenssenssenssenssenssen

"Goodnight, Sam!" I called out behind me, while I opened the door to leave the building. I shivered slightly after feeling the cold wind and headed toward my car. I was halfway there when I felt as if someone was watching me. I looked around but didn't see anything. I even pushed my mind out to see if someone really was there but I didn't hear a thing.

"Weird," I mumbled. The whole day had been weird. I was ready to head home to a nice warm bath.

On my way home, I still couldn't shake the feeling of someone watching me. When I reached our old farmhouse, I quickly got out and headed inside, feeling very grateful that Gran had left the back door unlocked, even though I was always begging her not too. I hated when she did that, especially when she was home alone. But since we lived in the middle of the woods next to a cemetery, she thought she was safe from any harm. Though if I learned anything from reading all those mystery novels that I secretly loved, it was that Gran was setting the stage to be a perfect victim.

When I finally made my way inside and had closed the door behind me, I took a deep breath. I was so focused on slowing down my racing heart that I wasn't aware that someone had approached me.

"Sookie-"

"AWW! Geez, Gran! You scared me," I yelled, jumping and turning around to see my Gran standing there, and thankfully not someone else.

"Sookie, dear! What has you so frazzled? You look like you've seen a ghost! Come on honey, I made some cookies." Gran took my arm and led me to the kitchen, where she had left a plate of cookies and a pitcher of milk on the table.

On the nights that I worked late, I was almost always starving when I came home and Gran had soon learned that. She usually made me a snack and would have it waiting for me when I got home. I hated that she stayed up late doing that, but she wasn't _that_ old. She was only 62 years old, even though she acted much younger and was in perfect health.

"Come on, sweetheart, tell Gran what has you so jumpy," She said, pouring me a glass of milk. I took it and took a long swallow of it, letting it calm my nerves. I was not sure if it was the coldness or the protein, but whenever I was upset I almost always drank milk and it calmed me down.

"Nothing, really Gran. I just thought...oh nevermind, it seems so silly now," I said, taking a cookie off the plate.

"Sookie, something must have happened. Did someone say something to you? I haven't seen you like that since you were in high school," she said, taking a cookie of her own.

"Oh, no Gran, it was nothing like that. When I was leaving Merlotte's, I just felt like someone was watching me, you know? I just couldn't get that feeling to go away," I replied, taking a bite of my cookie.

"Do you still feel like someone is watching you now?" she asked, looking very serious.

"Oh, Gran, it was just my mind playing tricks on me. I don't think it's anything to worry about."

"I don't know Sookie. You've always had intuition about these sort of things. But if you say it's nothing, I'll leave it alone." She yawned. "Do you still have the pepper spray I gave you?"

"Gran! It was just a feeling, I swear it. Nothing else happened."

"Ok, ok! Well, I'm going to head to bed. I'm beat." She stood up and gave my kiss on the top of my head. "See you in the morning, sweetheart."

"I'm going to bed too. Goodnight, Gran."

After calming down and talking to Gran, I was sure that it was just a feeling. I stood up and took the milk glasses over to the sink to rinse out. When I glanced out the kitchen window, I could have sworn I saw someone looking in at me from out by the treeline, but when I looked again, no one was there.

"Fucking weird." And with that, I went to bed.


	3. Chapter 2

_***Disclaimer***_

 _ **Not my characters. They belong to HBO or Charlaine Harris.**_

 **Read, enjoy, and review!**

I woke up the next morning with Gran at my door, knocking and calling out to me. I grumbled to myself cause I _did_ _not_ want to be woken up yet, but it was Monday, and Monday meant hanging sheets out on the line. Gran had a strict schedule for her cleaning. It was how she kept our home always ready to receive guests.

So I got up out of my nice, warm, and comfortable bed and dressed in some old jeans and a baggy grey sweatshirt. I quickly braided my hair, and then slipped on some old gym shoes from high school that I used for yard and house work. I promised to myself that I would take a nap later on.

So down the stairs I went with the balled up sheets that I just I stripped off my bed ready for the wash. When I got downstairs, I noticed that Gran was already out back, so I dropped my stuff by the washer, grabbed a granola bar and headed outside to find her already on her second sheet.

"Here Gran, why don't you let me do that, and you can hand me the pins." I said, worried that she might fall off the stool she was standing on.

"Susanna Rose! I am only 62, I can do this just fine." I knew Gran was just joking, so I laughed. "Besides, I actually wanted you to sweep the porch and maybe pull the weeds in the front?"

"Ok! Just holler if you need anything." I said while walking away towards our tool shed. When I had the things I needed, I headed up the stairs of the porch and walked around it to the front. Our porch surrounded the entire house.

"I need music." I mumbled to myself. I set my tools down and quickly ran upstairs to grab my portable radio and headphones. I wouldn't play it too loud incase Gran called me, but it was nice to listen to music. Made the work go faster.

I got back outside, set radio the station, and picked up my tools for cleaning up the front landscaping. There weren't too many weeds, so I knew that this wouldn't take too long.

When I finished, I grabbed the broom and began the job of removing all the pollen and dead leaves off the porch. Fall really was setting in now. I noticed that there were a few cobwebs near the top of the railing on the porch, so I climbed up, with my gardening gloves still on, ready to battle with the scary spiders.

"The itsy bitsy spider...went up the railing to the top…" I sang. Then I shouted in a fast action movie voice, "THE WRATH OF SOOKIE STACKHOUSE!"

I swung my hand to destroy the web, but I guess I swung a little too hard, because all of the sudden I was falling forward, which was quite a fall because there were about 6 stairs to get up on the porch.

I screamed, my eyes tightly shut, not wanting to see when I would fall, and waited for the pain, but right before I was able to land, I felt someone catch me. My eyes burst open.

"Oh! It's you! What the hell! How did you catch me?" My heart was all racey because of the extra adrenaline that was flowing through my body.

Somehow the guy from church yesterday was in my yard and was able to catch me from falling and getting hurt. WEIRD!

"I was walking up and ran over when I saw you start to fall. Are you ok?" He said, his face close to mine, looking at me with very concerned eyes.

"Um, you can put me down now. Thanks for catching me. Bye now." I said, and he set me down, but he didn't make any move to leave. I knew I was being rude, seeing as how he had just saved me and everything, but this guy just was, well weird.

Then Gran walked up and I groaned internally because I knew that this guy would probably be staying for lunch, and I did not want that.

"Oh, Sookie dear! There you are! What happened? I heard you scream! Are you alright?" Gran said, from up on the porch, making her way over to me.

"Yeah Gran, I'm fine. I just was trying to get the cobwebs so I stood on the lower railing and lost my footing. It was kind of dumb of me, now that I think about it." I felt sort of achy from the fall, even though….well Weirdo….caught me. I guess I didn't know his name. "Anyways, um, he caught me." I said gesturing over to the guy standing a few feet away from me.

"OH! You must be Mr. Northman! Thank you so much for catching my Sookie!" She said, clasping her hands together, a huge smile dancing on her face like this was some sort of cartoon and she was about to say 'My hero!' or something."I believe you already met Mr. Northman yesterday at Church?"

"Uh, yeah I met him." I said, still not clear on why he was here. I looked over at him and noticed he was smiling at me. Creep.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him, folding my arms across my chest.

His face fell, and he looked slightly embarrassed. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Sookie!" Gran said, shocked at my rudeness. "Mr. Northman was just returning your scarf that you left at Church yesterday! He rang about an hour ago and I told him to come right over, seeing as he's new in town."

"Oh. Thanks." I noticed it had fallen on the ground a few feet away from me, so I quickly went over and picked it up. I noticed his car next, shocked that I hadn't heard or seen it come up our gravel driveway. I didn't think my music was that loud. Come to think of it, I still had the radio going, so I quickly reached down and shut it off.

I moved to go inside, wanting to go clean up from the yard work and then falling, but Gran blocked my way, grabbing my arm to stop me.

"Sookie. Mr. Northman came all the way here to just drop of that silly old scarf of yours. The least you could do is talk to him properly." She was whispering, but I could hear that there was no room for arguing.

But argue I did, seeing as how I was Stubborn Sookie, as Gran liked to call me sometimes.

"Gran, I just wanted to go clean up a bit. That's all." I whispered back, glancing back at _Mr. Northman._

"Fine, but hurry along." She said, and I practically ran inside, trying to get away from this awkward situation.

And I still didn't even know his name.

I heard laughter from the living room when I exited my bedroom, all freshened up. I almost went back into my room to waste a few more minutes, but I heard Gran calling me.

I headed downstairs and stopped in the doorway of the living room, crossing my arms over my chest again.

He looked over at me, smiling, and stood up, as if waiting for me to sit down as well.

"Sookie, come in here please. I'm going to go get started on some lunch. You two talk for a bit. Sookie, Mr, Northman tells the funniest stories."

"Please, call me Eric." Well, at least I knew his name now. I wasn't sure why heart stopped when he said his name, but I figured I would think about it tomorrow, just like my favorite heroine.

"Yes, well, Eric tells the funniest stories."

I took a deep breath while Gran excused herself to the kitchen. I walked into the room and sat down in the chair across from the couch. I folded my arms across my chest, refusing to look at him.

"Uh, I noticed that you live with you Gran. Have you lived here long?"

"Yes."

"Do you mind me asking why?"

"I do."

"Ok…" We sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Here, let me take your coat. I'll go hang it up in the front closet." So Eric took off his coat and handed it over to me. I reached the closet and when I lifted it up to put it on a hanger, I noticed it smelled really good. So I smelled it again.

I heard someone coming down the hallway, and quickly stopped my weird behavior, hanging up the coat quickly. I turned and saw it was Eric.

"I, uh, left something in my pocket." He said, and moved closer to get it, invading my personal space. The hallway wasn't very wide, so I had my back to the closet, and he was standing in front of me, leaning past to get whatever it was he needed. He was so close to me, it was uncomfortable, but there was no way to get out of there seeing that he was blocking the path.

"Excuse me!" I said, pushing against his arm that was nearest to my face. He took a step back, and seemed flustered. I felt a strange surge of electricity when I bumped him. I figured it was just static, but his eyes bore into mine, making me feel like he felt it as well. He has really blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, I was just getting something out of my coat, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He ran his hand through his hair again and I figured it must be a nervous tick he had. I felt slightly bad. I wasn't _trying_ to be bitchy. It just kept happening.

"It's fine. Let's just go back into the living room." I said, leading the way, not checking to see if he was following me. But I heard his steps behind me and I braced myself for some more weirdness with _Eric._

We sat down the same way we had before and I just sort of looked around. This was so awkward, but he wasn't saying anything, so I decided to just ask him something random.

"How old are you?" Well, I meant to ask about his family, but I guess that was what I really wanted to know.

"I'm 32. I just turned 32 actually about 2 weeks ago." He said, looking happy to actually be talking.

"Sorry, that was rude, I shouldn't of just asked you that, like I did. I'm 21 by the way. Incase you were wondering, which you probably were because I asked you and of course then you would be thinking about how old I am. My birthday's in the summer." I rambled on until I noticed that Eric looked very amused by something.

And of _course_ that ruffled my feathers, so I just went back to sitting there, arms crossed

until Gran called us in for lunch.

He was _OLD!_ I mean, WEIRD, WEIRD, WEIRD!

"Sookie, Mr...I mean, Eric! Soup's warm!" She called from the kitchen. I stood up and Eric was right behind me like a lost puppy. I had a strange feeling overcome me that this was the man I was going to marry. My remembered my Gran telling me that she had felt the same way when she met my grandfather. My heart sped up.

We sat down to eat, but really only Gran and I ate, Eric said he was on a special diet. Sooner than I would have liked, Eric got up to leave and I had to jump in the shower to get ready for work.

When I was on my way upstairs, I couldn't help but overhear Eric and Gran talking about me.

"She'll come around. She's such a sweet girl, but terribly shy. Don't take it personally."

"It's alright Mrs. Stackhouse. I understand. I just really hope to get to know her better." He said. I heard the front door open. "Good Day."

"Sookie, that man is such a gentlemen! I don't know why you acted the way you did. He was just trying to get to know you better!" Gran yelled up to me, as I made my way getting ready for my shower.

I got undressed and thought about the weird encounter. I couldn't get over the fact that I had felt like this was the man I was going to marry. MARRY? I only had met him the day before. Why would I think such a weird thought. I wished I had better social skills. I wished I wasn't so awkward.

I had to get going, so again, told myself I would think about it tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 3

_***Disclaimer***_

 _ **Not my characters. They belong to HBO or Charlaine Harris.**_

 **Read, enjoy, and review!**

Later that evening, I made my way to Merlotte's. When I got there, I headed back towards Sam's office to drop my stuff off. I heard Sam's thought's which stopped me from opening the door. In his mind, Sam was looking at a man. I had never seen this man before. From what I could gather from Sam's mind, he had dark hair, blue eyes. and was dressed in dark brown pants and a white shirt with 3 buttons on the top. He looked like he was angry about something. But I wasn't sure what it could be. Then I heard in Sam's mind, that the guy had been asking about me, and Sam was telling him that he wasn't about to give information about his workers to some stranger.

I realized, while standing in the hallway, that I could not hear the other man. I decided to just leave my stuff behind the bar. I walked back into the seating area and I saw that Arlene, another waitress, was just about to head back there and collect her things, so I asked her for her notepad.

I got started with my tables and I soon noticed that the man from Sam's office was now sitting in my section, staring at me. It made me super uncomfortable. Again, I couldn't hear him and for some reason, he seemed to remind me of Eric, even though he looked nothing like him. I wondered if maybe I should ask Sam to take his order, seeing as how he was making me so uncomfortable, but I wanted to see what this guy was all about, especially considering that he was asking about me before.

I walked across the room and ended up standing right beside him, my eyes not leaving his. I was not going to show this creep that I was intimidated.

"Hello, my name is Sookie and I will be your waitress tonight. Can I get you something to drink to start with?" I asked him, but before he could answer, I heard everyone's thought's all drift to the same thing.

 _Who's that tall guy? Who's that blonde? I saw him at Church the other day...etc.._

I stood up straighter and looked over towards the door to see Eric standing there staring over at me and the strange man. I gave him a small smile, my heart beginning to race. He returned it and walked over to the table and sat down. I actually was glad to see him. He made me feel so much more safer now.

"Good Evening Sookie. Bill." He said, shucking off his coat. "I didn't know you worked here. I'll take a Bloody Mary to start with, if it is not too much trouble?"

He seemed way more sure of himself than our previously encounters had shown him to be. I suppose it was because he was having a meeting of some sort.

"Hi Eric!" I said, still smiling like a loon. "Yep! I've worked here for almost 4 years actually."

He no longer had a smile on his face and looked at Bill expectantly with a glare. I was unsure what I had said to make him look so angry, but I felt my face redden. Maybe Eric wanted me gone so I turned to Bill.

"And for you?" I was wondering how Eric knew him, but I wasn't about to ask, because that would have been very rude. I wanted to show Eric that I was a lot nicer than I had previously shown him. I also didn't want that cold look turned onto me.

"I'll take a Red Wine, thanks." Bill said, still eyeing me up and down, making me feel dirty with just a look.

"Ok, I'll be right back with your drinks. Let me know when you're ready to order." I walked away and told Sam, who was bartending for the evening, the order. While I was waiting for the drinks, I turned back around and watched Eric and Bill talking. They seemed to not like each other very much.

I returned with their drinks and whatever was being said between the two of them was heated. They both looked frustrated and annoyed. Although, Eric looked somewhat smug as well.

"Here are your drinks. Do you know what you want yet? If not, I can just come back in a bit." I said, not wanting either of them to turn their anger onto me.

"Actually this will be all for me, so if you could just give me the bill, that would be great." Eric said, flashing me a smile, but when he turned back to Bill, he had that stony expression once more.

"I'll take mine too." Bill said. I ripped off both tickets and handed them over.

"Ok, well if you change your mind, just holler for me." I said.

As soon as I left, they went right back to talking about whatever it was that was making them both mad. The only reason I knew this was because I couldn't help but look over at them from time to time. I noticed that every time I looked at them, I saw one, if not both of them staring at me while continuing to talk to one another.

I continued on for the rest of the night serving the patrons of Merlotte's and I guess I didn't notice when Eric and Bill left. It was time for me to go home, so I got my things together and walked out into the parking lot, only to find Bill leaning against my car. I felt chills erupt all over my body.

"I never got the chance to introduce myself earlier. I'm Bill Compton." He said, as he held his hand out to me when I was close enough.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you. Have you been waiting here for long?" It was only about 9pm, but I was sure that they had left at least a half hour ago. I shook his hand and noticed they were very, very cold.

"No, not at all. I just wanted to introduce myself, but you were very busy and I was also occupied." He straightened up from leaning on my car and circled around to stand in front of me with my back to the car. "We are neighbors, did you know?"

"Oh! Gran and I were wondering who lived in the Compton House now. Was Mr. Compton your Uncle?" I asked him, backing away towards my door, ready to jump in. I was talking to distract him, but something told me he wasn't easily distracted. I really just wanted to get away from him and get into my car. This guy was just weird.

"Yes, he was. Well, I'll let you get on home now. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other." And I felt that strange tickling behind my eyes again. I _really_ wanted to get out of there now.

"Yeah, sure. My Grandmother would probably want to meet our new neighbor." I said, opening up my car door and climbing in. "Goodnight Mr. Compton."

"Bill. Call me Bill." He said and flashed me a toothy grin.

"Sure. Bye, Bill." I closed my door and he walked away. I wondered how close I had been to being violated and I was happy I was finally in my car alone and locked in.

"Oh, no! You have got to be kidding me. Why does this always happen to me? What did I ever do?" I said as my felt my car stopping in the middle of nowhere. I was 2 miles from home and my old yellow car decided to stop.

I didn't have a cell phone and while I knew how to change a flat, I also knew that I would be the perfect victim to anyone who happened to be driving past and I was sure that was not what was wrong with my car. But I had no other choice, so I got out of the car after popping the hood to see if there was an easy fix, but there wasn't anything I could see. I had no idea what to do. I got back in my car and locked the doors, grabbing the old quilt off my back seat that I used when I went to the park to read. I was glad that I had left it in there, even though it was November.

I was just about to start crying from frustration, when I saw a familiar car make it's way down the road. My face lit up with a smile.

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" I shouted to myself. It was Eric. I was so relieved and stunned.

He pulled over and got out of his car, leaving it running. I don't think he realized it was me.

I opened my door and got out, the quilt still wrapped around me against the cold air.

"Hi," He said, smiling at me seeming pleasantly surprised to see it was me. Seems like all I've been doing is saving you lately." He joked and it made me lips twitch into a small smile.

"Yeah," I trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Do you know anything about cars?" I asked him, changing the subject.

"Yes, I do. If you would pop your hood, I can take a look." I did as he asked and he told me all I needed was a jump start. He went and got cables out of his car and gave me a jump start.

"Thanks so much for stopping." I said, after my car was running again. I felt the urge to give him a hug, but thought that might be too weird, seeing as we had only known each other for two days.

"It was no problem. I wasn't sure if anyone was actually in the car, but I thought to stop just in case. I'm glad it was me that found you." I nodded in agreement.

"You might want to take it somewhere to have it looked at, but this should get you home. I'll give you my cell number encase you get stuck again." He said, reaching into his pocket.

"Oh, well, I don't have a cell phone so it's really unnecessary." I told him, somewhat embarrassed about not having one. I could tell that he was well off by his car, phone and clothing.

"Well, take it anyways and call me when you get home. Otherwise I'll be worried about whether you made it home ok. Maybe I should follow you?" He said, almost sounding like he was talking to himself on that last part.

"Sure, I'll call you when I get home. But you don't have to follow me home." I told him and he gave me his number which I wrote down on my hand with a pen I found in my purse.

"Okay, don't forget to call me." he said, as we both got into our own cars.

I headed home and he headed in the opposite direction. I called him when I got in, and he seemed glad that I did, almost like he thought I might not of.

"Hello Eric. I'm home." I said into the phone.

"Good. Thanks for calling me. Sookie?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think that I could maybe see you this weekend?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, him, worried that he was asking me out. I was starting to like him, but I still was unsure about dating because of my disability.

"I was wondering if you would like to go out to eat or something with me?" He sounded very hopeful, but I didn't know if I should. I wanted to say yes, but I did not feel like it was such a good idea.

"That's very nice of you to ask, but I don't think so. I have to work every day this week. Closing shifts." I said, not exactly lying...I was working, but they weren't all closing shifts.

"Oh. Well another time then." He sounded disappointed and I felt bad.

"I could go after work on Saturday. I just remembered that someone asked me to switch. Would you be able then?" I asked, my heart beating faster again. This man had to ability to make me so nervous!

"Yes!" He all but yelled into the phone, causing a huge smile to form on my face. "That would be perfect! I will call you later this week and we can figure out what we will do?"

"Okay!" I agreed. "Bye now." I said, hoping to go take a shower and climb into bed.

"Goodnight, Min fru." He hung up and I couldn't help but wonder why that thing he called me sounded so familiar.


	5. Chapter 4

_***Disclaimer***_

 _ **Not my characters. They belong to HBO or Charlaine Harris.**_

 **Read, enjoy, and review!**

It was the next morning and I slowly felt myself leave behind my dream because I heard some sort of ringing. The phone ringing downstairs had woken me up and I was surprised because this particular phone call was for me. Gran had climbed the stairs, assuring whoever was on the phone that she was bringing the phone to me. "Almost there. Ok, hold on."

I hopped out of bed wondering who could possibly be calling me. "Sookie dear, phone call for you!" She said through the door, just as I went to let her in. She handed me the phone and I mumbled a quiet hello.

"Hello, Sookie?" A smile broke out on my face. I had the fleeting thought that I was going to get all wrinkly because of all of the smiling I had been doing.

"Oh, hi Eric!" I said, wondering why on earth he was calling me so early. "Can you hold on for a second?"

Gran was still standing in my room, so I held the phone to my chest and gave her a pointed look.

"Ok, ok, I'm leaving!" She told me as she walked out the door and down the stairs, leaving the door open. I crossed the room and shut it tight behind me.

"Eric, are you still there?" While I was a bit annoyed about being woken up, I was very interested in why he was calling me. Probably about our date which made me smile more. Maybe he was just as excited as I was?

"Yes, Good Morning Sookie. I'm sorry, did my phone call wake you up?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, but it's fine. I had to get up soon anyway." I said, hoping I didn't sound rude. I needed a better filter, I thought to myself.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't even realize the time." He apologized.

"Er-" I tried to cut him off, but he kept on talking.

"That was very inconsiderate of me. I should've waited."

"Er-" Again, I tried to stop him, but with no success.

" I can call back later…"

"Eric!" I said, laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. "It's fine, I can talk now!"

"Oh, ok. Sorry." He said, in a low voice, as if embarrassed.

"Stop apologizing!" I said, still laughing.

"Fuck….oh sorry….Shit….I didn't mean to swear. I'm going to stop talking now." I was laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes.

"Eric, it's fine. You're fine. Now, why did you call me?" I asked him, taking a deep breath,

"Oh, right. Well, you did agree to go out with me on Saturday and I was wondering what time would be good for you? What is your favorite type of food? Or would you prefer to see a movie? Or we could go bowling?" He was all over the place, and it made me smile again to see how much effort he was putting into this. I really hoped that his silent thoughts would continue so we could have a nice time.

"7:30 would be great!" I said, laughing again. "I think dinner would be fine. I'm very casual, so anywhere is fine. Except Merlotte's, I spend too much time there."

"Oh, ok. Well, how about Chinese food? Middle Eastern? Greek?" He said, listing of many different types of foods, sounding anxious.

"I'm good with anything really." I said, wondering why he seemed so nervous. "What about you? What do you want?"

"Anything's fine with me as well." He said. "I know just the place."

"Ok, well, do you want to meet there? Actually, my car isn't working still, and I don't like to leave Gran without a car for too long in case something happens." I said. "Would that be a problem? To come and get me?"

"No, of course not. I was already planning on coming to get you."

"Oh, okay. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you! Love you." And with that I hung up.

And as soon as I did, my eyes got really big. I JUST TOLD ERIC NORTHMAN I LOVED HIM! OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL WAS WRONG WITH ME? I barely even knew him! I should call him back and tell him that it was just an automatic response because the only person I talked to on the phone was my Gran.

Yes, that was what I would be doing.

I pressed talk just as the phone began to ring.

"Sookie?" I heard the phone say. I lifted it up to my ear.

"Oh, I'm so embarrassed! I'm sorry! It's just that I only ever talk to Gran on the phone and it's just what I'm used to saying on the phone." My face felt very warm.

"I assumed as much. It's fine. I didn't want Saturday to be awkward, so I decided to call you back." He said, sounding like he was amused.

"I was just about to call you back, but you beat me to it." Talking to him on the phone was so much easier than it was in person. It felt...comfortable….unlike the few times we were in the same room. When we were together, I always felt flustered.

"Ok, well now since that is all cleared up, I'll see you then." He said, and it almost sounded like he was smiling. "Bye, min kärlek."

I hung up and wondered what the different names he had been calling me meant.

"Sookie! I made breakfast!" I knew that Gran was just trying to get me downstairs to tell her about my phone call with Eric.

"Coming, Gran!" I yelled back at her, pulling off my nightgown and dressing in some jeans and a light blue long sleeved t-shirt. I would have to get ready for work later on.

When I got to the kitchen, Gran was just flipping pancakes off the pan and onto a dish.

"Here you go, honey." She said, and I took the plate from her after I crossed over to kiss her on the cheek and say good morning.

We sat down at the table and I didn't say anything until finally Gran broke the silence.

"Well? What did Eric want?" She said, sounding like she would just burst if I didn't answer.

"You mean, you didn't listen in?" I asked, teasing her.

"Me? I would never!" She said, laughing. I knew she wouldn't, but she knew I wasn't serious.

"It was Eric, which you knew. He asked me out on yesterday, and I agreed. Remember I told you he stopped and gave me a jump last night? He told me to call him when I got home and then asked if I would go out. He's coming by on Saturday at about 7:30 to pick me up." I said, while I reached for the milk. I left some details out, but I figured a girl is entitled to SOME secrets.

"Oh! How exciting! Your first date!" She said, and rushed off to her room. "I have just the thing. It's old, but it's in very good condition."

She came back into the room with a white dress that had red flowers on it. It was so, so, pretty and I was wondering where she had gotten it from.

"This was mine when I was younger. You can wear it with a sweater. I know you have a red one that would look very nice with it. Black would go good too. Just a bracelet would look very nice with it. I can help you curl your hair if you want."

"Gran, this is all very nice, but we are just going out to eat. I don't need to dress too fancy."

"Sookie, it's not fancy. It's just a dress. A sweater and some flats will make it look very casual." She said, looking very happy to be sharing this dress with me.

"Gran, thank you! This is perfect. Are you sure?" I asked her, just in case.

"YES! Sookie, I want you to wear this. What time will you be home? It will take at least 45 minutes to curl those long golden locks you have." She wasn't kidding. My hair hung well past my shoulders and was really thick.

"I should be home no later than 5 on Saturday and Eric said he would be by at 7:30. That should be enough time." I said, and stood up to put the dishes in the sink.

"Sookie? Do you think, that, um, you want to wear makeup?" My Gran asked from her seat at the table.

"Maybe a little mascara. Why?"

"Well, I think some red lipstick would look just darling with that dress. I'll give you some money and you can stop on your way home." Gran said, standing up and going to the stove to bring the pan over to the sink, where I had started washing the dishes.

"Oh, that's ok Gran, I'll be eating anyway, so I don't think it matters."

"Sookie! You don't really plan on eating on this date do you?" She said, sounding shocked.

"Yeah, why not? I'm not going to pretend to be something I'm not, Gran. If Eric doesn't like my eating habits, then that's just too bad for him." I said, wiping my hands on the dish towel and turning towards her. "Why would I want to be with someone who can't accept me for me?"

"Well, I guess you're right. I just remember when I was a girl, you never ate on a date. I guess things are different now." She said, sighing. I could hear in her mind that she was thinking about my grandfather.

"I'm going to go jump in the shower. See you in a bit." I wanted to give her some space. My grandfather had died about 6 years before from a heart attack and Gran missed him everyday.

I came back downstairs about a hour later, dressed and ready to run some errands before work. Gran was in the kitchen on the phone, so I kissed her goodbye and headed out the door.

"Sookie! Wait! Hold on Maxine, I need to tell Sookie something before she goes to work." She motioned for me to come over to her as she set the phone down.

When I reached her, she placed a $20 bill into my hand and blew me a kiss with her other hand while winking. I laughed and gave her another kiss.

I headed first to the post office to mail some bills for Gran and then to the library to return books. I pulled up to Bon Temps Rx next and parked Gran's old station wagon right in front. I got out and walked inside heading first to the makeup aisle to select a lipstick. Gran had said red, but I was just going to get some sheer gloss. Red lipstick just seemed so messy. I saw a headband that would match my dress perfectly, so I selected it as well.

I turned to leave the aisle when I passed the "Family Protection" merchandise.

I stopped for a second my eyes growing big. What if Eric expected sex on this date? I wasn't nervous before, but now I was! I couldn't have sex with him. I would for sure hear his thoughts then! I would just have to call and cancel. Yes I would do just that. But the thought made me feel so sad. I didn't have long to think about it though.

"Sookie?" I felt my face flush when I heard _him_ say my name. I dropped the things I was holding, including my purse, which wasn't zipped up and slipped out all over the aisle. My wallet, gum, various lotions and chap sticks. And Tampons. Why on EARTH did I have 7 tampons in my bag? Did I think I was going to bleed out or something?

"Eric...hi.." I said, slowly turning around, and then bent down to start cleaning up the mess I made, stuffing my stuff back into my purse, my face flaming red.

Why on Earth was he here right now?

ESPECIALLY WHEN I HAD BEEN STANDING STARING AT CONDOMS. This was so mortifying and awkward.

"I thought I saw you come in. I thought you were going to be at work?" He asked, bending down to help me clean up the mess I had made. He picked up my wallet and all the coins that had fallen out, avoiding the tampons...

"Yeah, I was heading there, but I had to make a stop first. I should be going." He was holding my wallet, so I grabbed it out of his hand and walked away very quickly. But since he had trees for legs, he was very able to keep up.

"Oh, well, I was just thought I would say hi. I didn't, mean to startle you." He said, running his hand through his hair.

I approached the checkout lane and the cashier, who was a woman in her early 40's. She quickly bagged up my items and then I walked out to my car, not saying a word, with Eric right behind me. I opened up the back down to set my bags down on the backseat.

"Sookie? Are you ok?" He asked me, while I stood next to my door with him on the other side of the car.

"No. I'm very embarrassed. But I'll be ok!" I said, laughing nervously.

"Well, if you are sure you are fine, then I will let you get back. I am glad I ran into you actually. I did not get a chance to mention this to you. Stay away from Bill Compton." He said, very seriously.

"He was weird!" I blurted out. "He stayed behind after you left on Monday and was leaning on my car. He wanted to talk to me I guess. But, like, don't approach a stranger in a parking lot late at night? Like, who does that? I honestly thought he was going to attack me or something!"

I hadn't noticed the angry expression that had formed on Eric's face.

"HE DID WHAT?" He gritted out between clenched teeth. I had never seen him so angry. "I will tell him to stay away from you. You do not have to worry about him. I am sorry you felt so threatened. Please tell me if he bothers you again?"

"Sure, I will. How do you know him anyways?" I said, closing the back door, and opening the driver's side door, ready to jump in. I really had to be going, or I would be late.

"He is a colleague of mine." And he said no more. So far, I had thought Eric to be quite boyish and harmless, but he looked absolutely lethal during this exchange. I sent up a silent prayer that he never looked at me with such anger. I think I was figuring out that you did NOT want to be on Eric Northman's bad side.

"Oh, ok. Well, I have to get to work. It was nice seeing you again." I said smiling up at him. I had the urge to kiss him or hug him again, but I suppressed it.

His features softened and he smiled back at me. "Yes! I hope you have a good evening at work."

I got in and shut my door, started the car, and then waved at him through my window. I mouthed goodbye to him, and drove off.

I could still see him standing there in the rear-view window.


	6. Chapter 5

_***Disclaimer***_

 _ **Not my characters. They belong to HBO or Charlaine Harris.**_

 **Read, enjoy, and review!**

It was a week later when I saw Eric again at church. He was sitting in the spot that he had sat in last week. I led the way with Gran right behind me. When we were a few feet away, Eric looked up and smiled brightly, jumping out of his seat to let us in the pew.

We had, had our date the night before and it had went wonderfully. He had taken me to a new restaurant in Shreveport and it had been so wonderful, I never wanted it to end. I was so disappointed when he dropped me off, though, because I had wanted him to kiss me. I think he wanted to kiss me as well, but he told me my Gran was looking through the blinds. She looked sheepish when I came in and I was still annoyed with her today. But my annoyance faded when I reached the pew.

"Good Morning Mrs. Stackhouse. Sookie, you look beautiful today." He said, while we passed him and took our seats. He gave me his beautiful, breath taking smile. I smiled in return and Gran moved to sit down, but left room for me to sit next to Eric.

"Good Morning Eric! How are you today?" She asked him.

"Very well. How about you? Sookie?" He asked, looking down at me from his seat.

"Oh fine." I said, blushing again, but before I could say anymore, the Pastor was already making his way to start the service.

"Good Morning everyone. First off, I would just like to remind everyone about the social that's directly after the service today in the church basement. All are welcome to attend and I hope to see every one of you there. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone more and all of the great food that everyone has brought."

The church lit up with excitement while everyone asked their neighbors and family members if they were going, what they brought. Gran and I had made 12 pecan pies!

"Eric, are you going to go to the luncheon?" Gran said, leaning over me to ask Eric.

"Oh, no. I didn't know about it and I didn't bring anything to share." He said, once again running his hand through his hair.

"Eric! You must come! Sookie here can introduce you to everyone. You will be Sookie's guest." She leaned over to pat him on the knee and then sat back up to turn her attention back to the service that was just getting started.

I couldn't believe my Gran, putting me on the spot like that. I was now forced to make introductions for him when I don't even talk to these people. Honestly, I didn't mind having to spend a few hours with him. It was everyone else I was worried about.

I don't know why she did things like that, when she knew that I didn't get along with others. I think it made her sad that I did not have many friends.

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The basement was huge. The church had a school as well, so the basement was used as the cafeteria and the gym. Everything had been pushed towards the walls and there were rows and rows of tables set up everywhere. Gran, of course chose to sit with her friends, and I usually just sat with her as well. But when I went to sit next to her, I wasn't allowed.

"Sookie dear, why don't you go sit with all those girls over there, the ones you work with. You can introduce Eric to them." She turned back to her table and that was that.

I took a deep breath and made my way over to the table that she was talking about, Eric following behind me, his hand on the small of my back. It felt so natural.

I had been fine just introducing Eric to others, but now I was going to have to sit with people who hated me.

"Hi Dawn, Hi Tara. How are you guy's today? Mind if we join you?" _Please say no, please say no._

"Oh sure, sure. But who's we?" Dawn asked, wondering why on earth I was talking to her and who was the hot guy standing next to me. I took that right out of her head. She was a very loud broadcaster.

Dawn and I worked together but we were not friends. She didn't like that I always got better tips than her. The rest of the girls at the table were girls I knew from high school, Tara being one of them. Tara and I had never really clicked. She was very negative about _everything_ and I just didn't need that kind of vibe in my life. She was nice enough to me and we would talk at work from time to time.

"Oh, well, this is Eric. He just moved here from…" I trailed off not knowing the answer.

"Sweden." He supplied. I had been wondering where that accent was from…

"Oh, well any _friend_ of Sookie's is a friend of mine." She said, fishing to see if we were more than friends.

"That's very kind of you." He said, and he moved to pull out my chair right as I put my hand on it. I thanked him and we sat down. I smiled to myself because I knew he was not fooled by her "charming" ways.

"So, are you married Eric?" Dawn asked, hoping he was not married. At all. Not even a little bit. She was screaming it into my head. Uh, no, sorry Dawn! He was dating me! HA! I bet that would piss her off.

"Uh, no. I was married for about 4 years, but my wife passed away about 8 years ago." He said, looking down at his hands that were resting on the table. He looked so sad and for a moment I felt bad about thinking that he was mine. I had no right to even think that. I barely even knew him.

"I'm so sorry. I know what it's like to lose loved ones." I said to him, and his eyes shot up to mine as if shocked I would say that.

"Yes, I understand you lost your parents when you were young." He said, looking deeply in my eyes reminding me of something that I couldn't quite place my finger on. "So, you all work together?"

"Yeah we do. I bartend, and they waitress." Tara said, almost as if asking Eric to question her employment.

"I'm actually opening a bar in Shreveport in a few weeks. I've bartended a lot and I finally wanted to own my own place." He looked very excited, but also amused.

"You are? I'll just have to come by and visit it!" Dawn was getting on my nerves and I was just about to get up when I saw Eric look over at me.

"Sure. All of you are welcome. I'm not sure what to name it yet, but I will let you all know when we are closer to opening, if you are interested."

"Who's we?" Dawn asked him. _I hope not some girlfriend._ She thought.

"My business partner Pam." I felt a flash of jealousy. I wondered what sort of past these two had.

"Oh, is she your girlfriend?" Dawn said. At that, Eric laughed. I wanted to know as well.

"No, no. She's more like a sister and she's also gay." He said, still laughing.

"Oh! Well, I would love to come see your bar sometime. But I'm sure Sookie here won't want to go. She's a goodie-two-shoes kind of girl. Kind of a loner too." Dawn said, acting like I wasn't there. I just stared at her, my eyebrows pulled together. She must really hate me. I went to listen to her thoughts and soon found out how much she did.

 _How did Sookie meet this guy? He's so handsome and she's so nasty. I wonder if she finally gave it up or something… Why does he keep looking at her. He should be looking at my girls. I mean, HELLO I just unbuttoned 2 buttons without anyone noticing. OH! He must be gay….I hope not._

"Uh, excuse me." I said, standing up. "I'm going to go get some food."

I quickly walked away from the table, leaving Eric and that bitch Dawn. I was standing in line, when I felt someone come up behind me.

"Sookie? Are you alright?" Of course it was him. I had never had anyone come after me when I was upset before. It made me feel important and I realized how lonely my life had been.

"Oh yeah. Fine. Just hungry." I said, motioning towards the food.

"Your friends seem..nice." He said, amused again.

"They aren't my friends." I snapped at him.

"Oh, sorry. I just assumed." He said, running his hand through his hair again.

"I'm sorry too. Dawn just...she doesn't like me very much, and I just can only take so much." I said. He looked at me concerned.

"I understand." He said, and moved a bit closer to me.

"So, what are you doing in Bon Temps anyway. If you are opening a bar in Shreveport, why on earth would you want to live here?" I asked him, trying to lift some of the awkward tension. I wondered why this topic hadn't come up the night before on our date.

"I don't like living in big cities." He said, running his hand through his hair once more. "But I was also looking for a...girlfriend I guess."

That made me stop for a moment. I felt bad for him. He lost his wife and was looking for someone new and here of all places.

"What? In Bon Temps? Who would you find here of all places?" I said, trying to talk some sense is this strange man. I had blurted this out without thinking and felt bad. We had gone out the night before and I was asking who he would met here? Like, did I want him to think our date meant nothing to me?

"Well, I already have." That surprised me, but also made me concerned. What if it wasn't me?

"Oh...well what's her name? Is she here? Maybe I know her? Probably do, everyone knows everyone here." I asked him, thinking on who he could possibly be involved with, while looking around at everyone. I felt so sad and depressed in that moment. Now I knew he thought of me as just a friend.

"I'm looking at her." He said, lifting up his hand to tuck some stray hairs behind my ear, smiling slightly at me. "Will you go out with me again on Tuesday?" He said, changing the subject quickly.

"Um, wait, what?" I said, feeling like I was getting some serious whiplash from this guy, but smiling like a loon again.

"Will you? I want to take you out and get to know you better. Sookie, I have been on my own for a long time now and I don't want to be alone anymore. I never really expected to find anyone here in this town, especially at church. Sookie, you are so spirited and beautiful and when I saw you, I just had to talk to you, get to know you. I know that this is all strange and weird." Uh, YEAH. "But I really do want to get to know you better."

"Yes, I will go out with you again! I work the lunch shift so I wouldn't be able to go until at least 6 if not later." I said.

"I will call you Tuesday and we can make plan's then. Let's get you some food and then go sit down again, Min Fru." He said, grabbing a plate and handing it to me.

"What does that mean?" I asked him, assuming it was another language.

"Just a term of endearment." He said, looking flustered for a moment.

"Oh, okay. Aren't you going to eat too?" I asked him when I noticed he didn't get a plate for himself.

"I'm not hungry, but you go ahead." He said, motioning towards all the food.

"So you were married before…" I said, opening up a new can or worms. I hoped I didn't offend him.

"Yes, I was. She was actually from around here. She was beautiful, kind, wonderful. I was very lucky to have known her." He said, looking sad, his eyes somewhat glassy as they stared deeply into my eyes.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't of said anything." I felt bad for bringing it up now.

"No, it's ok. I don't mind talking about it with you. It was hard for a while. I miss her a lot, but it's been such a long time that I've decided to start dating again." He said. "I'm going to go get something from my car, if you'll excuse me." He looked very sad and I hadn't meant to upset him. I left my plate at our table and went out looking for him after he had left.

We had been there for a few hours now and I noticed the sun was setting. I walked outside and looked around. I saw him sitting on a bench that was near a clove of trees, his shoulders slumped. He looked so sad and I wanted to go and comfort him, but I didn't know him that well. I knew that from where I was, he couldn't see me so I just went back inside, but when I glanced back I saw that Eric was wiping something off of his face that looked dark.

"Weird." I mumbled, and made my way back into the church.


End file.
